nature

Spring has Sprung, Maybe….

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Had to be in the area of the farm today, so I took the opportunity to take the battery for the “Bad Boy”, and get it hooked up with the idea that I will go down sometime this weekend to change the oil and clean it up a little more before starting the mowing season, which by the looks of things, won’t be too long down the road. I am more than ready, I love spending a couple of hours riding around on that mower, getting some work done, but also soaking in the fresh country breeze, enjoying the sights around the farm, and just relaxing.

While they may be small and hard to spot, there are definite signs of spring all around the farm. The trees in the front yard are budding out really nice, if the warm temps hold on, it won’t be long till we see the green of small, new leaves. Next thing you know, there will be the sound of the birds singing and flittering about, making nests and getting ready to raise the seasons new “crop”.

I also saw some workers prepping for some tile placement just south and east of Mom’s place, another sign that spring is just around the corner, getting the last of the winter projects cared for just in time for planting. I also saw a couple of guys getting their planters tuned up, can’t wait to see them in the field. The smell of freshly turned soil, is a joy that I think that most would not understand, but it is perfume of the highest quality, I wish somebody would bottle it.

As I was leaving, the sun was still kinda high in the sky, but the clouds coming in helped to turn it into a beautiful sunset image, another view that is always different on the farm, but always beautiful.

Time Marches On

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For as long as I can remember, this old tree stood guard over the driveway at the farm. As kids, we would have races from the house to the tree. It was our guidepost, when we saw that tree by the road, we knew we were almost there.

Time stands still for no one. This tree, for so long, was “the farm”. All of a sudden, we drive to the farm to see the tree laying down in the yard. A high wind came through and took advantage of the weekend, hollow trunk, forever changing the landscape. We now wait to see the buildings on the horizon. Not the same, but still a reassuring sign that a good day is about to happen…

Trail Cam

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When I was a kid, and we used to hunt on the farm, there was plenty of game on the farm. Rabbits, pheasant, quail, and squirrel. Over the years, farming practices, and the fact that many farmers removed any and all trees from their property to make more room for crops, the wildlife population has dwindled quite a bit. You will see a rabbit once and a while, and it is not out of the question to see or hear a quail or pheasant. It is a treat to hear or see a quail or pheasant in the area.

Today, wildlife has taken on a different look. Lately, there has been an uptick in rabbits, I think the fact that we let the pasture grow now has helped with that. Today though, it is more common to see deer, a lot of hawks, and an occasional heron in the area. Of course, there are plenty of raccoons, and with the increased deer population, there are plenty of coyote running around the place as well. I haven’t seen any, but there have been reports of bobcats in the area as well. What a treat that would be to see one trotting across the field.

A couple of years ago, I was walking the creek when I saw something really odd for the area. It was obvious that there was a beaver on the farm. Not once in my lifetime, had I ever heard of a beaver in the area. I was excited to say the least. I did some poking around, and I found the beaver den, and after more investigation, I found the dam “Bucky” was building. It was hiding, right in plain sight at the south edge of the whistle/bridge over the creek. Now my excitement is growing.

I started to read up on beavers and their impact on the environment. Most of their impact is actually quite good. The negative in farming area’s is the potential for flooded fields. More reading, and I discovered ways to help control that so it would not be a problem downstream. It was going to be my plan to put those measures into place in the creek, so that we could let the beaver maintain his home and hopefully we would get a little beaver pond along the creek bed. It was all very exciting for me and the rest of my family. I had all kind of plans on documenting the beaver and his work as he worked forward.

Part of my efforts to document Bucky would be to collect pictures via a trail cam mounted close to his den so that I could catch him coming and going. The camera would also catch activity along the creek bank to see what other wildlife was hanging around the farm.

It didn’t take long to see that one of a couple of things happened with Bucky. Either he was trapped in the area, or he decided there was too much human activity in the area so he moved on. Maybe a coytote got him. Who knows.

Never did get any pictures of Bucky. We did however, get some pics of some of the other critters wandering around by the creek. It looks like an otter or maybe mink, some raccoons and one of the most beautiful coyotes I have ever seen.

On a positive note, there is more wildlife in the area, and with any luck, we will do our part to see that population grow, at least on the farm…

Before the Christmas 2022 Blizzard

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This image courtesy of my brother in law, John Luparell

For the first time in I can;t count the years, we are poised to have a white Christmas. I am all for that, I really like snow. The problem is the timing. This year, the “blizzard” is poised to hit us right smack dab in the middle of the Christmas travel season. There will be a lot of people who will not be able to get to their holiday destinations. For them, I am sorry, but I am looking forward to a Christmas with snow. Maybe in that sense, a normalcy may be working it’s way back into the season.

In anticipation of a weekend of no power and frigid temps, my brother in law, John Luparell and I headed down to the farm to grab my generator, just in case. The day could not have been better. It was sunny, there was absolutely no wind (that is so rare), and the temps were comfortable.

We loaded up the generator, and a space heater to bring back home (yep, I am getting old, and I need help lifting generators and space heaters into the back of my truck. John isn’t much younger than me, but between the 2 of us, we could muster up enough strength to load both items into the back of the truck, and then into my garage. Now we wait and see.

While we were at the farm, we decided to take advantage of the nice day, and we did some walking around back in the pasture. We went up and down the creek, I saw signs of critters at the creek, paw prints from raccoons, and I thought maybe an otter or maybe a mink, sliding into the water, to swim away from the danger of 2 old farts, walking the creek bank.

John discovered a couple of old bottles back along the fence, I am thinking they were from the early 60’s, but they were cool, so John took them home to my sister Kim. Nobody has said anything about them getting broke over his head, so she must have liked them. A little cleanup, and they will probably make a nice vase. Pretty sure that at one time, those glass vessels sit in the pantry of Aunt Millie’s kitchen. Pretty cool.

Now, the big question is; Will the Christmas 2022 Blizzard happen? Or will it be another all hype weather event, with a lot of “cold air”? Time will tell, I just know that the snowblower is ready, We have plenty of ice melt, and are as prepared as we can be, so we just wait and see. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. I hope that the coming year is a good one for all. Don;t forget to follow my blog so you can continue to see my updates, and thanks for visiting.

Going Hunting with Dad and Pop

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Hunting is, and probably always will be a right of passage for many young men. I haven’t been hunting for years, but one of my favorite memories from the farm, was to go hunting for the first time with Dad and Pop. It was that day, that I felt like I was grown up.

I was still pretty young, so I could not actually carry a gun, but I had the important job of being the “bird dog”. My job was to stir up the pheasants or quail in the grass along the edge of the field. (No, I was not put into harms way, I had to walk behind, I was too young to know that I was just tagging along).

None the less, it was a great day, trudging thru the snow, quietly, I might add, waiting to see that pheasant or quail, or maybe even a rabbit, come out of the grass, and then find it’s way to our dinner table.

The best part of the hunting experience was coming back to the house. After an hour or so, the cold soaked into your bones. We all were looking forward to getting back to the house, getting out of our hunting garb, and backing our fannies up to the stove in the living room, by now, Jim had that thing glowing red, and I have to tell you, it felt mighty nice to soak up that heat. Of course once we got warmed up, the heat in the living room was pretty intense. Jim liked a warm room……

Early Winter on the Farm

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Well, the last few days, while not terribly cold, sure make it feel like it is winter. Cold, cloudy and damp, wish the sun would at least shine a little bit, or if it is going to be dreary, at least it could snow.

Even in this dreary part of winter, there is beauty to be found at the farm. The shot below is one I took a year or two ago, before the real fun part of winter came in. Look around, even on the most dreary of days, and you can still find beauty in the natural world around us, here is a sample from our slice of heaven.